Winning women

This year marks the 31st annual celebration of the extraordinary achievements of women and girls in sports. The theme of this year’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day at Skidmore College is “expanding opportunity,” recognizing the progress of efforts such as Title IX and continued access to sports for girls and women. Despite these developments, just 40% of high school girls are currently playing sports, and three in five girls do not have the opportunity to compete.

Research shows that girls who play sports have better health, higher self-esteem, stronger leadership skills, greater academic achievement, and more economic opportunity. Skidmore College celebrates this important event with free sports clinics for girls in third through seventh grades, instructed by Skidmore athletes, along with other fun activities. This year marks the 10th annual community celebration on campus.

Athletics at Skidmore College is shaped by female athletes, coaches, and staff who continue to grow along with the program.

MVP: Athletics Director Gail Cummings-Danson

Skidmore College athletics is led by Gail Cummings-Danson, who has overseen the construction of new softball and field hockey fields and the resurfacing of Wachenheim Field. The 19-team athletics program has also grown with the addition of several new coaching and support staff positions during her tenure and the creation of the Thoroughbred Society to honor student athletes with grade point averages of 3.67 or higher. 

Cummings-Danson has a deep history in athletics, working at the University of Albany, Temple University, and Connecticut College in the field. She earned a B.S. in physical education, master of education in athletic administration, and a doctor of education in sports management at Temple University. During her undergraduate experience, she was an all-American attack on the 1988 Division I national champion lacrosse team.

Dedicated to athletics in higher education, Cummings-Danson has served on several NCAA committees, been active in the America East Conference, served a team on the ECAC Executive Council, and is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators and the U.S. Women’s Lacrosse Association. Cummings-Danson was also recognized as the ECAC Female Administrator of the Year for 1999–2000.

Shining Star: Kelly Donnelly

Kelly Donnelly ’18 sank her 1,000th career point and has also been named Liberty League Performer of the Week three times and to the Liberty League Honor Roll twice this season.

Donnelly hit a three-pointer from the wing with 5:13 to go in the second quarter for the milestone basket. She becomes the 14th player in Skidmore history to reach the 1,000-point mark, the first since Angela Botiba in 2015. Donnelly is also the third junior to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Teamwork: Field Hockey

In the past nine years, Thoroughbred field hockey has won the Liberty League seven times and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The team beat St. Joseph’s in the first round of the tournament but fell to Tufts University in the quarterfinals. Led by head coach Beth Hallenbeck, the team finished with a 16-6 record.

Off the field, teammates share a close bond that lasts well beyond the time marked by the play clock. The athletes help each other study on the bus to and from games, push each other harder in off-season workouts, and develop true friendships throughout their time at Skidmore. 

Highlights: Associate Head Coach Elyse Schlump

Coach Schlump has been working with Skidmore’s women’s basketball team for four seasons and recognized for her dedication to the program by the Saratogian. “I got so lucky where I ended up,” she explained, as she has been able to watch students grow from first-year students through their senior year, and watch them win the Liberty League Tournament in the 2014–2015 season.